About 30 percent of social workers leave the system each year. The authorities' plans to redress the situation
About 30 percent of social workers leave the system each year, creating a massive turnover of staff. The staff shortage is caused by low salaries and high workloads. To encourage community assistants to stay in the field, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection has launched a reform of the system, which includes raising pay grades and developing professional skills.
At community level, there is a growing shortage of social workers. In the Falesti district, there is an annual turnover of about 50 percent of staff, says Emilia Ciobanu, head of the General Directorate of Social Assistance, Family and Child Protection in Falesti. According to her, a reform is needed that focuses both on motivating employees and developing new social assistance services.
"Already for several years in a row we have about 46-50 percent turnover among community social workers. We need to look more closely at the problems they face in the field, to see what makes them leave the system. The development of the personal assistance service has been left in the shadows and only expected funding from the minimum package of services. Out of 198 personal assistants, only 56 are paid from the local budget. "
In order to reduce the shortage and turnover of staff, the authorities will increase the pay grades of social workers with higher education to the level of teachers. This action is part of the reform initiated by the authorities. At the same time, it is proposed to improve and expand the services provided and to finance them from the state budget, stressed Labour and Social Protection Minister Alexei Buzu.
"The data for 2022 show that the salary of social workers was 16 percent higher compared to unskilled work in the public sector. We have situations where in some districts more than 30 percent leave the system, which means there is disruption. We foresee two steps in human resources development: first we will increase the salary grades for social workers with higher education to the level of a pedagogue, and for social workers with vocational secondary education to the level of an educator, after which we will introduce the three professional development grades. "
Alexei Buzu said that there are currently about 13 thousand professionals working in the social assistance system.
